The lips pressed against her nape traced the pronounced bones, skimming the skin effortlessly. Eun Chae’s head bowed and her body shriveled involuntarily. Clutching at Kwon Ki Joo’s sweater, no matter how tightly, did nothing to stop the trembling of her body.
With her face flushed red, Eun Chae managed to straighten her neck and check the CCTV. She felt as if the dark camera lens was staring back at her.
Meanwhile, the lips pressing on her nape moved deftly, pressing firmly on the hollow between her neck and shoulder. His breath, calmly exhaled, was hot and ticklish, raising goosebumps.
Worries and concerns about the present and future seemed to evaporate from her mind.
As he stopped and pulled away, her focus returned. The sudden feeling of emptiness made her touch her nape to check for any marks.
There shouldn’t have been any trace, just a touch and withdrawal.
“No marks were left.”
At that, Eun Chae snapped back to reality.
Not sure how she got up, but Eun Chae stood straight, looking down at him and spoke distinctly.
“……Please move the pots at the back to the front.”
Her words, squeezed out of composure, made Ki Joo’s deep blue eyes flicker.
His face seemed a bit unfamiliar. One corner of his mouth lifted in a hollow laugh, different from simple absurdity or astonishment.
A twinge in her chest made Eun Chae walk past him as if fleeing. His gaze pricked her back like needles, but she ignored it.
Gasping for breath as she entered the front hall, a resident staff member looked at her curiously. Refusing the offer for water, Eun Chae immediately ascended the stairs.
Once safely in her room, she sat at the vanity and pulled out a table mirror to check her nape.
As Ki Joo said, there were no marks. A sigh, whether of relief or disappointment, escaped her. Wrapped in gloomy emotions.
Surprisingly, her body remembered.
Expecting where Ki Joo’s lips might head next, what sensations they might bring, she shivered.
She remembered how, in the past, his marks turned her body into a patchwork of red and pink after their encounters.
Had all their shared breaths and intertwined lips been just a game?
Eun Chae touched her nape with still trembling fingers.
Ding[Dash] Ding[Dash].
The vibration of her phone echoed incessantly in the greenhouse. Ki Joo stood motionless among the greenery, listening to the sound indifferently.
When the vibration accelerated in a final frenzy, he finally reached into his back pocket. Annoyed as if scolding the vibrating phone, he calmly operated it before putting it to his ear.
The sharp voice of Lee Gwang Il immediately poured out.
[Dash] “You bastard, I told you not to act on your own.”Ki Joo’s gaze remained fixed on the open entrance of the greenhouse.
[Dash] “Hurry back and clean up the mess you made.”Feeling the piercing cold wind, Ki Joo smirked. Hearing the sound, Lee Gwang Il’s voice deepened.
[Dash] “Are you laughing?”Even as Lee Gwang Il interrogated him, Ki Joo leisurely licked his curved lower lip. [Dash] “You mess with the CCTV and then laugh?”
Ah, right. That.
Lifting his eyes in a skewed manner, Ki Joo gazed at the lens inside the CCTV camera, then turned and walked away. He ended the call on his phone with a press of a button, stuffing it back into his pocket.
He locked the greenhouse door and trudged towards the annex where his quarters were located.
Upon opening the front door, there was Lee Gwang Il, fuming with rage. Surprised by Ki Joo’s quick return, he looked momentarily flustered. As Ki Joo entered, taking off his shoes, Gwang Il seemed startled, as if seeing a ghost.
Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Ki Joo walked lazily to the computer. Realizing the cause of Gwang Il’s anger, he spat out in fury.
“You did this, right?”
Ki Joo, fixing his gaze on the monitor, tapped the keyboard a few times. The screen, previously showing ‘No Signal’ and blacked out, now displayed the greenhouse.
Believing Ki Joo had hacked into the system, Gwang Il’s face flushed with embarrassment. He flopped onto the sofa, looking awkwardly at Ki Joo.
“Ah, just needed a reboot.”
Ki Joo, without a word, lay back on the sofa, closing his eyes. Gwang Il, glancing at him, joked half-heartedly.
“Ah, these days even bodyguards can’t be computer illiterate, right?”
“…….”
“Would be less worried if Song Eun Chae didn’t frequent the greenhouse so often.”
Mumbling to himself, Gwang Il headed towards the dining room. As his footsteps faded, Ki Joo opened one eye and let out a low chuckle.
Waking up late, Eun Chae sighed at the high sun.
Rubbing her forehead, she sat up, colliding with the streaming sunlight. Squinting, she got out of bed and went straight to wash her face.
After applying a simple layer of skin care and lotion, she went downstairs, finding the house unusually silent.
Entering the dining room, she was greeted by an unfamiliar middle-aged woman.
Presumably a housemaid, but why? Had Mrs. Haman ever been absent like this?
Curious, but polite, Eun Chae nodded in response and sat down.
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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